Three pre-kindergarten students at School 23 in Jersey City ingested some small white pills they found on the ground at a nearby park when their classes were taken for a walk this morning.

But fortunately it turned out that the pills were the sugar substitute sorbitol, which can come in the form of a small pill and is used by dieters, said Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman, whose department responded to park near the school on Romaine Avenue.

All told, 15 other sorbitol pills were collected from the ground in the park, Roman said, and all of them were tested. According to WebMD.com, sorbitol is also found in diet products, chewing gum, candy, frozen ice treats and some medicines, such as cough syrups.

A Jersey Journal photographer photographing the park this afternoon found dozens more of the sorbitol pills on the ground.

Roman said that all three students -- who were 3 and 4 years old -- appeared to be OK, and the parents of the three kids told officials the kids were going to be checked out by their own doctors.

Jersey City schools spokeswoman Paula Christen said parents in all three pre-K classes at the park were notified of the incident and some parents took their children out of school for the day.